


Definitely Romantic

by NachoDiablo



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: ALL THE CAPS, Awkward Flirting, Bucky Barnes as Captain America, Canon-Typical Violence, Captain America Sam Wilson, Captain America Steve Rogers, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22741429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NachoDiablo/pseuds/NachoDiablo
Summary: “Listen," Bucky had said. "We can do this. We can woo Sam. We know everything he likes, we have access to his comforts. We can show him how special he is!”“We can!” Steve had perked up at Bucky’s enthusiasm. “We know everything about Sam. We can absolutely win him over.”It had seemed so easy back then. Now, months later, having failed to close the deal during multiple wooing attempts, it appeared to be nearly impossible.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson
Comments: 24
Kudos: 292
Collections: Marvel Rare Pair Bang 2019





	Definitely Romantic

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Long Day [Art]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22745554) by [DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressingGreenie/pseuds/DarthBloodOrange). 



> Thank you to my lovely partner [DepressingGreenie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressingGreenie/) for providing such inspiring art! 
> 
> [SadieB798](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadieb798) you are a gem, thanks for your beta work and title assistance <3
> 
> MRPB Mods, thank you for all your hard work! *strong arm emoji*

Fury walked into the conference room, slammed the door shut behind him, and tossed a folder onto the table. “Nice work out there today, Cap.”

Three men clad in Captain America costumes looked at him silently from across the table. Sometimes it was difficult to know which Cap Fury was referencing. Sam, Steve, and Bucky were all technically holders of the title.

Today, however, Steve and Bucky sported sickly neon green sheens from the vast amount of alien digestive goo that coated them from head to toe. It was obvious that Fury was speaking to Sam, the only one with a clean uniform, as he had managed to successfully subdue the creature without being eaten.

To be fair, Fury was usually speaking to Sam these days, but that was irrelevant.

Bucky was just glad that they’d been rescued before digestion had started. Although he’d reconsidered that relief when he had seen the smirk on Sam’s face as he’d reached a hand through the esophagus to pull Bucky and Steve out. Maybe it would have been better to hunker down and be digested rather than face yet another day of embarrassment in front of Sam. 

But instead, he’d done his best to wriggle out with as much of his dignity intact as possible, while making a mental note to record in their post-mission log that the situation was at least seventy percent Steve’s fault.

“We’ve got some intel coming in on a potential situation,” Fury continued, with no sign of concern as to the state of two thirds of his audience. “HYDRA resurgence.”

“Again?” Sam groaned. “This is the fourth time in six months.”

“It’s getting repetitive,” Steve complained, “having to fight the same battle over and over.”

“Oh I’m sorry, Rogers,” Fury said in a dry tone. “Do you want me to find a wider variety of hate groups to terrorize this city? I’d hate for you to be bored on the job. Hill is always after me about employee satisfaction, so you let me know what I can do to make your experience better.”

Steve pressed his lips together, and Bucky bit back a grin. He knew Steve had just been trying to agree with Sam. Steve was usually careful with his words, especially at work, but Sam had a way of making Steve flap his mouth more than he should. The dork never could keep his calm around someone he had eyes for.

Not that Bucky had any room to talk. Which is why he kept his damn mouth shut.

“As I was saying,” Fury continued, “we’ve got intel that this HYDRA revival attempt will be headed our way sometime soon. Hill wrote up a preliminary report for you three to review. I suggest you do so as soon as possible.Consider this your first priority for the immediate future.”

He nudged the folder across the table, and frowned. His lone eye narrowed as it glanced between Steve and Bucky. “On second thought, bump this down to second priority. First priority is showers for you two. That goo doesn’t look like it’s doing anything good.”

Bucky looked down at his right arm. The material of his uniform appeared mottled and thinning in several places. It had begun to dissolve under the digestive juices. He hissed as he checked Steve’s uniform and saw a similar reaction occuring. Part of Steve’s shoulder was exposed, and the skin was starting to look pink and raw, even under the veneer of green. 

“Son of a bitch,” Steve muttered as he grabbed Bucky’s hand and straightened his arm, turning it this way and that to get a good look at the damage. “C’mon, Buck, let’s get home before it gets too far gone.”

“Too late,” Sam pointed out. “You wait til we get home to shower, and you’ll both be bare assed by the time you hit main street. Those uniforms are living on borrowed time.”

“That might not be so bad,” Bucky said. “Naked Steve on his motorcycle is probably a pretty nice view. Bring some excitement to the rush hour traffic.”

Steve huffed in embarrassment, and Sam laughed. Bucky caught Sam’s eye and smiled, then looked away quickly. Sam’s eyelids lowered slightly when he smiled, causing his lashes to flutter in a way that made Bucky’s face heat up considerably every time. He was grateful that he wasn’t much of a blusher, unlike poor Steve, whose cheeks tinged pink every time he got hit with one of Sam’s smiles.

Bucky loved his boyfriend, but he was a complete dork most of the time. Which was part of why Bucky loved him, of course.

“Alright,” Steve acquiesced. “We’ll shower here.” He stood up and brushed a hand over Bucky’s hair. Bucky stood as well, cringing at the mess he’d left behind on the chair. 

Fury must have noticed, because he let out a short laugh. “Don’t worry, Barnes. Goose has done worse damage to nicer furniture. Just get out of here and take care of yourselves.”

“I’ll go on home,” Sam added, “and check on Alpine. Order some dinner so it’ll be ready when y’all get there.”

“If you don’t eat all the fried rice first,” Bucky grumbled.

“Hey, that was one time! And you were  _ late!” _

“It was pineapple fried rice, too,” Bucky said in a mournful tone. “Or so I was  _ told _ . Didn’t get any  _ myself _ , after all. Even though it’s my  _ favorite.” _

Sam let out a pointed sigh. “I’ll order extra, damn.”

Bucky’s self satisfied smirk twisted into a grimace as a burning itch flared up on his right elbow. He could tease Sam later; right now, he needed to get decontaminated and moisturized.

~

“Why do you always have to drag me in front of Sam? Pain in my ass.”

Irritation was laced through Steve’s voice, but his fingers were gentle as they caressed Bucky’s scalp. Once they’d stripped off the bedraggled remains of their uniforms and rinsed off the bulk of the goo, they’d taken their time soaping each other up and letting the hot water run over their sore muscles. Bucky had used the shampoo lather to give Steve a little mohawk, which he was still sporting as he carefully inspected Bucky’s skin to ensure that every bit of corrosive goo was removed. 

“Sam likes it,” Bucky replied.

“Well,  _ I _ don’t!”

“Yeah, you do,” Bucky insisted. “Besides, I wasn’t dragging you! I was appreciating your assets.”

Steve pinched Bucky’s nose, then pecked a kiss to the tip. “Thanks, sweetheart, but I don’t think Sam was all that appreciative.”

“That’s cuz he hasn’t seen you in your full naked glory yet.” Bucky smiled and poked Steve right below the belly button in the seam of his impeccable abs.

“Yeah he has,” Steve said morosely, “that time he caught me singing in the shower at home.”

“And dancing,” Bucky reminded him.

“And falling,” Steve muttered. He groaned and closed his eyes. “Ugh, why am I so awkward around him?”

“At least you can hold a conversation,” Bucky offered. “I can’t seem to do anything except annoy him.”

“And me.”

“And you.” Bucky leaned his head back so that Steve could rinse the shampoo out of his hair. “I used to be good at flirting. I dunno what happened. Maybe that part of my brain got frozen off while we were in the ice.”

Steve chuckled. “You were only ever good at flirting with dames you had no actual interest in. As soon as a cute guy gave you the eye, you clammed up and went into full-on dork mode.”

“That’s how I got you,” Bucky said with a sly grin. “Might have took me ninety years, but I won you over in the end.”

“You won me over when we were five.” Steve’s fond smile made his shampoo mohawk look all the more ridiculous. “I promised you ‘till the end of the line back then, didn’t I?”

Bucky smiled and leaned in for a kiss. It might have taken them close to a century, but they’d finally found their footing with each other. 

~

After Bucky had nearly fallen to his death from the train, Steve had been unable to remain silent about his feelings. His confession of romantic intentions had been halting and a little awkward, but the kiss he’d planted on Bucky once words had failed him had been anything but.

They’d defeated Schmidt together, they’d taken down the Valkyrie together, and then they’d died together. Seventy years later, they’d been uncovered side by side, hands clasped and foreheads touching.

Physically, Steve had bounced back almost immediately after he’d thawed. Bucky, having been given a different serum, had taken a bit more time to heal. Fury had asked Steve to take up the shield again shortly after they’d been found, but Steve had declined. He had been concerned about Bucky, of course, and they had both needed time to adjust to life in the future, both as individuals and as a couple.

They’d been given a second chance, and neither one of them wanted to squander it.

Steve had suggested that Fury hand over the shield to someone else until he was ready to wield it again, if he ever was. Fury had been amenable, and Bucky suspected that he’d already had other candidates in mind. Less than a month later, Captain America Sam Wilson was slinging the shield at Chitauri in New York City.

Despite some predictable push back, overall the new Captain America was a resounding success, both with public opinion and with the other Avengers. And with Steve and Bucky, too, once they had the chance to sit down with Sam for coffee and shit talk. Sam and Steve had hit it off immediately, trading good natured digs as though they’d been friends for years. Bucky had been slower to open up, but he’d liked Sam right away, too.

Eventually, Bucky and Steve had started joining Sam on missions. For two years, the three of them had fought side by side; sometimes with an assortment of other Avengers, sometimes as a triad. Despite living three hundred miles apart, they’d managed to work out a training schedule and meet up a few times a month. 

Everything was going smoothly, until all hell broke loose.

When Sam and Nat had texted from New Jersey, Bucky had known something horrible was afoot. Sure enough, once he and Steve had suited up and joined them back in DC, Fury was sort of dead, SHIELD had crumbled, and HYDRA was in control. They’d managed to thwart Pierce’s plan and take down the Winter Soldier, but the damage was significant. Fury was now operating from various underground facilities, as was Hill when she wasn’t in New York at her cover job, and there was suspicion that HYDRA had more Winter Soldiers at their disposal; volunteers who had allowed themselves to be brainwashed into super soldiers for their cause.

Fury had suggested that Steve and Bucky move to DC, in preparation for the next calamity, and they’d been quick to agree. Partly because they wanted to be ready to take HYDRA down once and for all, partly because Peggy was not doing well and they wanted to be able to visit her more often, and partly because living in Avengers Tower with Stark’s people and robots constantly in their business had grown old very quickly.

And partly because Sam had offered up his spare bedroom. The thought of being able to spend more time with Sam had appealed to them, both for strategic and personal reasons.

The three of them fell into an easy cadence of familiarity. They ate their meals together, argued over which shows were worthy of the DVR recording space, and took turns doing the dishes. The majority of their laundry shuffled interchangeably between their dressers, and they’d long since given up trying to remember whose toothpaste was whose in favor of sharing one communal tube. 

Most Friday nights found the three of them tangled together on the couch, watching one of the seemingly endless series that Sam’s cinephile friends had recommended as a must-see. Bucky made the popcorn, Steve ate most of it, and Sam was in charge of the remote, being the one most familiar with technology and lacking the super soldier strength to embed it in a wall when it was refusing to cooperate.

Bucky had watched with interest as the telltale signs of Steve being smitten began to arise. Increased chattiness and teasing, a warm flush at his cheekbones, intense looks that said far more than his words ever could. He’d seen them before, back in the pre-serum days, but they’d also come out in full force with Peggy. 

This time around, he didn’t feel the need to mince words. “You like Sam,” he had said matter-of-factly one afternoon while they’d been folding laundry. 

“What? Buck, no!” Steve had hissed. His head had whipped around the room frantically before he’d remembered that Sam was out picking up lunch. Turkey reuben sandwiches from the corner deli, with two dill pickles and a huge bag of barbecue chips on the side to share. All three sandwiches would be on marble rye, even though Bucky preferred seeded, because he’d usually have a quarter of a sandwich left over for Sam or Steve to snatch up, and neither of them liked seeds in their bread.

“It’s not… I don’t like Sam.” Steve had cringed, then clarified, “I mean, I do  _ like _ Sam, of course I do, what’s not to like? And yeah, he’s cute, but… well, not cute,  _ gorgeous, _ I can admit that, shit, I’ve got eyes, but that’s not… that doesn’t mean anything…”

“Yes it does,” Bucky had said. “It  _ does _ mean something. And it’s okay.” He’d tossed aside the pair of socks he’d been folding. Printed with magpies, they had been a joke gift for Sam from Nat, but they were so soft and warm that all three of them fought to wear them.

Bucky had slipped his hand through Steve’s and given it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay. I feel the same way. And I think… Sam’s amazing, we both know that, but more importantly, the three of us, we fit together. When you and Sam are with me, I feel like I’m home.”

“Yeah?” A whisper of hope had bloomed on Steve’s face. “You don’t think it’s weird? Or selfish, or something?”

“No,” Bucky had shrugged. “You and me, we’ve always loved each other, one way or the other. I don’t doubt that, not now, not ever. And loving Sam, it doesn’t feel like taking something away. It’s the three of us building something different. Something stronger.”

Steve’s eyes had studied Bucky’s face closely. Some reluctance on his part was to be expected. They’d been through something similar before, during the war with Peggy. Steve had been head over heels for her, and Bucky had struggled with what that meant for all three of them. He hadn’t begrudged Steve’s affection towards her, and he’d liked Peggy very much; he still did, in fact. He loved her like she was family, but he hadn’t been romantically interested in her at all.

Sam, however, interested Bucky in every possible way. And the easy camaraderie that had developed between the three of them made everything feel much less complicated than perhaps should have.

Evidently, Steve had read that on Bucky’s face, because his brow, knit with concern, had relaxed as he broke into a smile. “You’re such a smooth talker,” he had said. “I dunno how you do it.”

“I dunno either,” Bucky had grumbled, “because I sure as shit can’t crank it up around Sam. Just sit there all quiet, like a bump on a log. Or else I pester him about something dumb.”

“That’s better than my ramblings,” Steve had said with a wince. “And I tease him way more than you do. Shit, on our run this morning, I lapped him five times, and I goaded him  _ every  _ time. Like I couldn’t help myself.”

_ “On your left,” _ Bucky had mimicked while ducking out of the way of Steve’s halfhearted arm punch. “Listen, we can do this. We can woo Sam. We know everything he likes, we have access to his comforts. We can show him how special he is!”

“We can!” Steve had perked up at Bucky’s enthusiasm. “We know everything about Sam. We can absolutely win him over.”

~

It had seemed so easy back then. Now, months later, having failed to close the deal during multiple wooing attempts, it appeared to be nearly impossible.

Bucky had wondered if perhaps Steve was only capable of declaring romantic intentions under threat of imminent death, but not a single one of their Avengers missions gone dicey had ended with them asking Sam out on a date. Maybe it was the awkward factor of wanting to date your roommate. Bucky and Steve had certainly been there before. 

Being an established couple didn’t make things any easier when approaching Sam. Bucky knew their intentions were genuine, but it did feel kind of creepy to ask someone to join him and his boyfriend on their date night. Especially when that someone was Sam, who deserved the very best. 

And seeing as they couldn’t get their act together… maybe the very best for Sam  _ wasn’t _ Steve and Bucky.

Now, as they entered the apartment, Bucky tried to push those doubts to the back of his mind. The warm, spicy scent of green curry filled the apartment. Sam stood in the kitchen, opening containers and setting out plates and utensils. Alpine sat at the edge of the counter, back straight and tail curled, supervising his movements.

“You made it back in one piece,” Sam said with a smile. “And clothed, too.”

“Sorry to disappoint on the second part,” Bucky replied as he poked Steve’s side through that impossibly tight shirt.

Sam laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah. I got three orders of fried rice. Hope that’ll hold you, Barnes.”

“I guess it’ll have to.”

“And I got extra tofu in the pad see ew for Steve.”

“Really? Wow, that’s… Thanks, Sam.” Steve’s eyes were practically ballooning into little hearts. Bucky glanced over at Sam, but he seemed not to have noticed as he turned to open a drawer and hunt for serving spoons. Sometimes, he wondered how it was possible that Sam hadn’t picked up on their interest; Steve wasn't exactly subtle about concealing his emotions.

Once their plates were filled, they adjourned to the living room and piled onto the couch. Alpine followed and hopped onto the footstool, which was not actually used as a footstool, seeing as Alpine had claimed it as his bed. He refused to set even the tip of one toe on the expensive cat bed that Sam had purchased for him when Bucky had brought him home. Bucky had been irate-- that cat had some nerve, being rude to Sam when they were trying to win him over-- but Sam hadn’t been fussed. To his credit, Alpine  _ did _ enjoy stretching out on the floor  _ beside _ the cat bed, so it hadn’t been a  _ complete _ rejection.

Steve turned on the television and put on  _ Futurama _ reruns. They didn’t like to watch anything they had to pay attention to while they ate, since they usually wound up conversing more than they watched. Steve was on the left end of the couch, with Bucky in the middle and Sam to his right.

“You know where we haven’t been in a while?” Steve mused between bites. “The little Italian place in Georgetown. You know, the one with the homemade gnocchi. We should go there this week for dinner.”

“How are you thinking about future meals?” Bucky asked. “We’re in the middle of a meal right now.”

“I’m a master tactician,” Steve said with a grin. “I’m always planning ahead.”

“And those gnocchi were good as hell,” Sam added. “I’ll think about them any time.”

Bucky sighed. It had been a pointless question. Steve and Sam were always eating, planning to eat, or talking about something they’d eaten previously. 

“All right. Let’s go this Thursday.” Bucky turned to Sam. “You wanna come?”

“You… want me to join your Thursday dinner?”

“Yeah? Why not?” Bucky wasn’t sure why Sam looked so conflicted. It wasn’t an invite to a formal ball; Steve and Bucky went out to dinner every Thursday that they had free, usually somewhere casual.

Sam looked down at his plate, then back up at Bucky. “I thought Thursday was like… your date night, or something.”

Bucky heard Steve bite back a cough as he choked on his rice. He’d have done the same if his mouth had been full. Did Sam think they were asking him on a date?  _ Were _ they asking Sam on a date? How the hell had that happened?

His heart thudded in his chest as he kept his gaze locked with Sam’s. This was it. Bucky could tell Sam that yes, Thursday was their date night, and yes, Sam was invited, and yes,  _ absolutely, _ it would be a date.

Instead, Bucky cleared his throat and croaked out, “Um, it’s not really a  _ romantic  _ date night, it’s… a date night for bros.”

“A date night for bros,” Sam parroted back with a deadpan expression.

“Yeah,” Bucky replied weakly. “You know, bros being bros, doing bro things, planning bro dates, having dinner as bros, being--”

“Please,” Steve wheezed, “stop saying  _ bro.” _

Bucky decided to stop talking altogether. He snapped his mouth shut and waited for Sam to say something, anything, to break up the awkward tension that had settled in the room.

After a few moments, Sam smiled, a small, forced thing that didn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks, but I’m good. Maybe another time.” He turned back towards the television and continued to eat, keeping his attention on Bender and Fry’s antics.

No one else said a word for the rest of the meal, but Alpine glared at Bucky and Steve before he stalked out of the living room.

~

The three Caps sat crouched on the rooftop of some high profile tech company’s office building at seven thirty in the morning. Of course HYDRA would decide to schedule a revival right in the middle of rush hour. Any evacuations would be hell to organize. Civilians were everywhere, they were irate, and they would be adamant that they continue creeping forward on their route, come hell, high water, or explosions.

“Look,” Sam muttered from behind his binoculars. He pointed to a building across the street. Several dark shapes lurked in the shadows of a balcony on the second floor. “That’s them.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed, “I can tell by their ugly ass hats.”

Bucky did not think it would be helpful to remind Steve that their own helmets had goofy wings on them. Instead, he adjusted his sniper rifle to make sure he would be ready when Sam gave the signal. 

Sam checked the comms on his wrist communicator. “All right. Hill and Nat are taking care of the streets. Sharon’s running the tech show. We’re all set. This should be easy.”

“Maybe too easy,” Steve said. “They’re just  _ sitting _ over there. In plain view. Like ducks.”

“They also think we’re on the quinjet to New York,” Sam pointed out. “Sharon called in a fake emergency as a distraction.”

“Nice one,” Steve said with a grin.

“Come in, Team Hat Trick.” Nat’s voice crackled over the comms.

“We’re all here,” Steve answered. “In position.”

“Perfect,” she replied. “Sharon tapped into their comms, sounds like they’re going to create a distraction at the right end of the street, then charge the first floor of your building. Some from across the street, some from the left end, You’ve got to stop them before they get there. Hill and I will handle the civilians. Should be pretty straight forward.”

“No problem,” Sam said. “We’ll knock ‘em out before brunch.”

Bucky met Steve’s eyes, and returned his conspiratorial grin. It seemed that they were thinking along the same lines. Knock out an easy mission, whisk Sam off to a celebratory meal-- Bucky was positive they were near the cafe with the killer crab cake benedict that Sam loved-- and broach the subject of dating while they were all flush with victory and orange crushes.

It was a perfect plan. And sure, they’d had other perfect plans that’d gone off the rails before, but this one would be different. Bucky had a good feeling about it.

As predicted, a muffled thud and a poof of smoke appeared at the right end of the street. Bucky leaned over the side of the building towards the left end of the street and picked off the incoming HYDRA goons with ease. One by one they collapsed as the tranquilizers hit them. 

“Bucky, you good?” Sam asked. When Bucky nodded, Sam stood up and hoisted the shield. “All right, Steve, I’ll fly us down and we can--”

The rest of his instructions were cut off by the rumbling of a jet pack. A figure in HYDRA flight gear zoomed into view and immediately began to shoot. 

Sam jumped in front of Steve and held the shield to cover them both, but the figure didn’t try very hard to hit them. They seemed to be unsteady in the air, as though they were unaccustomed to the equipment. Once Sam and Steve stood to retaliate, the flying HYDRA goon weaved away towards the opposite side of the building.

The three caps exchanged confused looks. Steve shrugged. “I mean, it’s a nice effort, I guess.”

Sam rolled his shoulders. “I’ll grab ‘em and take them down to Hill before they hurt someone. Be right back.” He took flight, shield in hand, and followed the erratic trail of their half-hearted attacker.

“What a waste of time,” Bucky muttered. “Hey, what’s the name of that cafe with the crab cakes benedict? I think we were there for Sharon and Nat’s anniversary last month.”

“Yeah, we were.” Steve frowned in thought. “Shit, I can’t remember. Can you pull up Yelp on your phone?”

“Can’t you?” Bucky griped. “The app doesn’t work on my phone.”

“Bullshit, we have the same phone!”

Before Bucky could reply, a searing pain flared in his right shoulder. He glanced down incredulously at the bullet hole in his uniform. One bullet wasn’t anywhere near enough to slow him down, but it was an inconvenience. He looked back up in annoyance to see where it had come from.

A sharp inhale scorched his throat as he took in the scene in front of him. Sam was off in the distance, closing in on his target. A second flying HYDRA goon-- the one who’d shot him, Bucky assumed-- had both of his guns trained directly on Sam.

And Steve, the little shit, had leapt off the building and hurled himself directly at the HYDRA goon. Bucky rolled his eyes as he watched the airborne scuffle. He could have disposed of the threat himself; Bucky was perfectly capable of shooting straight with a gunshot wound. He’d done so plenty of times back before he’d been super serum-ed, and Steve knew it. But of course, Steve never could pass up the opportunity to be dramatic.

Bucky’s fond annoyance iced into cold terror, however, when something misfired on the HYDRA goon’s jet pack and they shot straight up into the air, higher and higher, dissolving into a dark speck against the clear sky. 

And then a faint sputtering sound echoed, paired with a wisp of smoke, and the speck got bigger, faster, as the tangle of HYDRA and Steve plunged towards the street. 

~

“What is this?” Sam’s wings retracted in one seamless movement as his feet touched the ground.

“An idiot,” Bucky muttered. 

He’d found Steve in the gutter, tangled together with the HYDRA goon. Steve had been banged up pretty bad, and Bucky was positive he’d broken his ankle and a few ribs, at the very least, but he was still conscious, if a little woozy. He hadn’t been able to stand, so Bucky had carefully dumped him into a wheelbarrow pilfered from a nearby landscaper’s truck. He hadn’t checked the vitals of the HYDRA goon. Hill’s medical team could deal with them. 

For now, Bucky was too busy seething over how incredibly pointless Steve’s reaction had been. Bucky was an excellent sniper. Busted shoulder or no, he would have been able to take down the goon before he got to Sam, if Steve had bothered to wait half a second, instead of hurtling himself off the top of a damn skyscraper.

But no, Steve had gone and gotten himself mangled up, and now Sam’s forehead was furrowed with worry as he retracted his goggles and surveyed the situation with a frown.

“The hell happened?”

“I got ‘im,” Steve slurred from the wheelbarrow. “ “Flying guy was after you, but I got ‘im.”

Sam’s frown deepened. He glanced back at the HYDRA goon. “The dude with the dime store jetpack? Did you…” His eyes widened. “You did  _ not _ jump. Man, tell me you didn’t jump. Not when Bucky was  _ right there _ with his sniper rifle.”

“Um…” Steve grimaced, but didn’t answer. Sam shook his head with a curt sigh, then noticed the haphazard bandage Bucky had tied around his shoulder. He closed his eyes, and the edge of his jaw tightened as he clenched it.

“Don’t even,” he said. The weariness hung heavy in his voice. 

Bucky looked down as shame pooled in the pit of his stomach. He could see Steve averting his eyes as well. Sam was in no place to judge anyone for being reckless, but this was carelessness. They should have been paying better attention, or coordinated better, something, anything that would have kept that stiff expression off Sam’s face.

“Closest hospital’s GW,” Sam said curtly. “I’ll see y’all there.” His wings unfurled and he took flight without another word.

~

“I can’t do this anymore.”

Bucky looked up from his Kindle towards the hospital bed where Steve was tethered to an IV with his ankle propped up on several pillows. 

“You say that  _ now,” _ Bucky said, “but give it a month, and you’ll be jumping off another building--”

“No,” Steve interrupted, “I mean I can’t do…” He waved his right hand around as though that would clarify things. All that happened was his IV rolled into the side of his bed.

Bucky remained quiet. He knew Steve needed a moment to collect his thoughts. Sure enough, once Steve had adjusted his IV and taken a few breaths, the words tumbled freely from his mouth.

“This wasn’t even a difficult mission, and we both got hurt. What if something happened to one of us? Before we got a chance to talk to Sam? He’d never know how much we care about him!”

“Okay,” Bucky said as he turned off his Kindle and set it aside. “We can--”

“We  _ can’t,” _ bemoaned Steve. “Clearly, we can’t, otherwise we’d have done it by now. We’ve finally got our shit together, but we still can’t ask Sam out. We were lucky enough to get a second chance with each other, but we’re blowing it with Sam!”

“We’re not blowing anything!”

“Wow. Okay, bad timing.”

Bucky and Steve whipped their heads towards the doorway where Sam stood, dressed in jeans, a raspberry henley, and Steve’s leather jacket. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a wary expression clouded his face.

“No,” Steve said in a stubborn tone, “it’s perfect timing.” He glanced over at Bucky, who nodded, then turned back to Sam.

“Sam,” Steve said, “we want to take you out. On a date, a  _ real  _ date. All three of us, together.”

“Not a bro date?” Sam asked with a smirk.

“No.” Bucky laughed nervously. “A  _ romantic _ date. We’ve been trying to get our shit together to ask, but, well.”

“We’d be waiting forever in that case,” Steve agreed. 

Sam’s smirk softened into a warm smile. “I kinda figured. I mean… I hoped. But I wasn’t sure if I was reading things wrong.”

“You weren’t,” Steve assured him. “And we’ll prove it to you, if you give us a chance.”

Even covered in bruises, Steve’s crooked grin was charming as hell. Bucky couldn't help but smile along with Sam, who ducked his head and looked up at them through his lashes.

“All right,” he agreed. “Let’s give it a shot.”

~

“Shit,” Bucky groaned. “Maybe this is a bro date after all.”

They were sprawled out on the couch, three hours into a marathon of  _ The Expanse.  _ Steve sat at one end of the couch with his legs sprawled out and Sam between them, with his back against Steve’s chest. Bucky was on his stomach with his face pillowed against Sam’s middle and his arms wrapped around both of them. Alpine was curled up on Bucky’s legs, snoozing away.

They’d made reservations at a fancy restaurant, one of those places where you didn’t order, you just ate whatever the chef made you. But it was drizzling and dreary out, and they’d just come off a long day of meetings with Fury and Hill. Sam had looked tired, and maybe a little nervous, when they’d arrived home and stared awkwardly at each other, trying to figure out what the etiquette was for who got the first shower when preparing for a three-roommate date.

So Steve had run a hot bath, tossed in about forty dollars worth of bath salts, and thrown the fluffiest towels in the dryer to warm while Sam soaked. Bucky had ordered brick oven pizza from their favorite spot, which did not deliver, and braved the weather to pick it up. They’d eaten together on the couch, inching closer and closer as the pizza supply dwindled, until they lie entwined together, blissfully content.

“Nah,” Sam said, and Bucky heard the smile in his voice. “This is definitely romantic.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out the rest of the Rarepair Bang creations in the collection and give them some love!


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